Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday protested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s questioning of his DNA at a BJP rally in the state last month. He asked the latter to retract his remarks, saying they have been deemed as “as insult by a large section of people of the state [Bihar] and beyond”.

Kumar’s move comes just ahead of Prime Minister’s scheduled rally on August 9 in Gaya, Bihar, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage city. Modi is also scheduled to address two other rallies in Bihar later this month, in what is being widely believed as an attempt to woo a large section of voters by announcing sops for them and launching sharp attacks on the ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) government, headed by Kumar, which faces a strong anti-incumbency wave after an uninterrupted 10 years in office.

In an open letter to Modi shared on his social media — Twitter and Facebook — accounts, Kumar said the DNA comment was unbecoming of the office the former holds, adding the issue was troubling the people of the state.

“Most of us feel that these statements, beyond questioning my own descent, have disrespected the lineage of our people and have denigrated the great legacy of the state. This also gives credence to the feeling that perhaps you and your party hold a prejudice against the people of Bihar. I wonder how come the gravity of such statements repeatedly misses your alert conscience,” Kumar wrote.

He also mentioned the statement of another senior BJP leader and federal minister in the Modi government, Nitin Gadkari who allegedly had earlier said “casteism is in the DNA of Bihar”.

“Interestingly, these are the same people who reposed their faith in you and contributed towards electing you to the highest office of the country with an overwhelming majority,” wrote Kumar, adding his homeland had been the cradle of civilisation and had given birth to some of the greatest icons in history.

“Needless to say when such statements are made, it weakens the collective faith of people in your leadership,” said Kumar. He urged the Prime Minister to withdraw his remarks, saying: “I have no doubt that this gesture of yours would go a long way in assuaging the sentiments of the people and would further enhance the respect the people have for you”.

Further, he described himself as a “son of Bihar and his DNA is the similar as that of the people of Bihar”. The chief minister added that his father was a freedom fighter and his mother an ordinary housewife. “I grew up in a humble household in rural Bihar. In my 40 years of public life, I have tried to work for the betterment of people following the ideals of [Mahatma] Gandhi, [Ram Manohar] Lohia and JP [the last two being veteran socialist leaders],” he wrote. He said he was writing to the prime minister on behalf of the people of Bihar who feel hurt by such statements.

The BJP, however, defended the PM’s DNA remark and accused the chief minister of trying to divert the people’s attention from the real issues. “Prime Minister had asked about the political DNA. He had asked why do you betray those who support you. Nitish Kumar has diverted a political question towards castes. The PM never said anything about his parents or caste, he rather questioned his political behaviour,” commented BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.

The PM had made the DNA remarks at a party rally held at Muzaffarpur town on July 25.